Although there is not much difference in the ability of swine and ruminants to digest feed concentrates that are not high in fiber, the great difference in the swine's digestive tract does require qualitative distinction in their feed and feed supplements. For example, swine are not able to make much use of fibrous materials, such as roughage, nor are swine able to sufficiently utilize many of the minerals that are conventional in the feed of ruminants. Differing from cattle, sheep and horses, swine need a high quality protein since there is little synthesis of good quality protein in their digestive tracts such a occurs in the rumen of cattle and sheep and in the caecum and large intestines of horses. Swine also grow more rapidly than ruminants. Accordingly, swine requirement for protein (amino acids), certain minerals and vitamins are generally at a higher level than required by the ruminants. For these reasons, inter alia, swine feeds and ruminants feeds are not interchangeable.
Swine feed compositions are generally divided into transition feeds, either milk-based or corn-based and used to wean a piglet from its natural source (milk from the mother), and finishing feeds, which are employed to take the piglet from the transition stage thru to the point where the more fully grown pigs are brought to market.
These feeds normally include a number of standard ingredients which are present to balance the food ration as to protein, fiber, energy and palatability. Such ingredients include, for example, animal protein products, marine products, milk products, grain products, plant protein products and natural and artificial flavors. Also included in these feeds are micro and macro minerals, amino acids, vitamins, animal fats, vegetable fats and preservatives. Additionally, field corn which is normally grown for feeding stock, such as yellow dent corn, flint corn and the like has long been the standard feed stuff or ingredient for transition feeds to provide carbohydrates for starting thru finishing rations for swine.
In the feeding of piglets that have been weaned from their mothers milk, it is desired to produce the greatest weight gains in the shortest period of time. Normally, using typical hog ration compositions for finishing purposes, a period of approximately six months is required to take the weaned piglet (of about 22 pounds) to the finished hog (of about 200 pounds) stage. Such typical hog compositions are those that contain about 14-15% crude protein.
The dry finishing feed compositions noted above usually produce acceptable weight gains in the expected time periods (typically, market-ready hogs weigh about 200 to 250 pounds, achieving such weight from about 24 weeks after weaning). However, such feeds are not necessarily as efficient as desired to be beneficial to the hog producer. Accordingly, efforts are constantly being made to formulate both transition and finishing feeds which will cause the piglets to consume more and grow more rapidly thereby producing a more efficient pig. The producer, the nutritionist and feed manufacturer, therefore, are constantly striving to formulate such a feed.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved livestock feed and, in particular, an improved dry finishing feed composition for swine.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a feed composition which is more palatable to the swine and thus consumed more completely so that earlier weight gains are realized.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a dry finishing hog feed composition that will produce the greatest weight gain in the shortest period of time.